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Financial function
FV
Returns the future value of a series of equal payments.
CommonDifficulty 1350 · AdvancedUsage rank #84 of 520
When to use it
The future value of regular deposits, a lump sum, or both, at a constant rate. Retirement and savings projections.
The shape of it
- Syntax
=FV(rate, nper, pmt, [pv], [type])
Worked examples
Regular deposits
=FV(0.05/12,120,-200) → 31,056.44
200 a month for ten years at 5%.
A lump sum
=FV(0.07,30,0,-10000) → 76,122.55
10,000 left for 30 years at 7%.
Both, paid in advance
=FV(0.05/12,120,-200,-5000,1) → 39,420.89
A 5,000 start plus 200 a month at the beginning of each month.
Worth knowing
- Deposits go in as negatives so the result is positive.
- For a changing rate schedule use FVSCHEDULE.
- Inflation-adjust by using the real rate: (1+nominal)/(1+inflation)-1.
Where it goes wrong
- Annual rate with monthly periods overstates growth enormously.
- Type 1 versus 0 changes the answer by one period of interest.
Related
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